James Erickson

James Erickson is an Associate Professor and Associate Head for Academic Affairs in the Department of Biological Sciences at Texas A&M University. His research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of sex determination and threshold responses in Drosophila melanogaster. He joined the department in 2003 after completing postdoctoral research at Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley.

Education: B.S. in Environmental Toxicology (1981, University of California, Davis); Ph.D. in Bacteriology (1989, University of Wisconsin, Madison).

Research emphasizes how quantitative differences in signaling molecules, particularly during critical developmental windows, drive distinct sex fates in Drosophila. Key areas include the role of transcriptional regulators like Runt and Groucho in sex determination, maternal effects on embryonic development, and the genetic pathways governing X chromosome dosage sensing. His work combines molecular genetics, biochemistry, and genetic analysis to study promoter regulation and threshold responses.

Publications highlight studies on sex determination mechanisms, symbiont effects on transcriptomes, and the role of enhancers in developmental timing. Erickson’s research has advanced understanding of how molecular interactions create strict developmental thresholds.

Lab: Located in Biological Sciences Building West, Room 348, his lab explores transcriptional regulation and developmental genetics using Drosophila as a model system.